New beginning, old problems
by Steffili
Summary: After a passionate weekend with Will, Alicia is faced with the possibility of being pregnant. And even if he is willing to be there for her, will that be enough to make their new beginning work? - Rated T for now! Sequel to "The Long Weekend"
1. Chapter 1

**Ok this one is the sequel to my story "The long weekend" If you haven't read it or it's not so present anymore in your mind here is a short summary: (or you can just go (re-)read it cause it's HOT! :P )**

**It's set early S3, their affair is still very young and they just spent their first long weekend entirely together. It entailed them having much sex, but also Will accidentally dropping the "ILY"-bomb on her, having Alicia freaking out for a short while. But then she came around and their weekend continued. Until Sunday noon she realized that she'd forgotten to take the pill while spending the weekend with him. After some considerations and talking through their options with Will, Alicia took the morning after pill. So this one sets in a couple of days later. It's T-rated for now. That CAN change later ;) Knowing me. A special thank you to Josie - I had this project in mind ever since I finished the Long Weekend but she fueled me with some more concrete ideas to finally get this going.**

* * *

Alicia sighed when she finally came home. It was Thursday night and it felt like this week was going on forever. Especially being so close to Will but still so far apart. After spending a weekend that had been like a crazy rollercoaster ride they were back to being just friendly coworkers, no, actually boss and underling as it was. No one was allowed to know for now. She'd talked to Will and they had set a clear order to things. The first point on a long list being her telling Peter she wanted a divorce. So she'd done that today.

He'd not been really surprised, she guessed moving him out of her place and into his own apartment had been a clear enough sign for him. But still there had been harsh words and arguing. Peter accusing her again that this was about Will. Alicia didn't say something to that but had pointed out it was more about her not trusting him anymore to not fuck every skirt passing by. Which was a true fact, Will aside. He'd tried to tell her it didn't mean anything and that he needed her. She'd coldly answered that she didn't think so as he'd already been re-elected State's Attorney. At some point he'd just told her to go, if she really didn't want him anymore she should just go and send him the papers if that's what she needed to do.

She'd been glad and it had taken forever until she was back home. She took off her coat and poured herself a glass of wine, then quietly sneaked into her bedroom, taking her phone out and calling Will.

"Hey, how'd it go?" he answered.

She smiled at the tone of his voice alone.

"It was grim, but it's done. I'm getting a divorce. And it looks like he's not fighting me much." she told him. There was an audible sigh of relief on the other end.

"That's good. I'm glad." he said.

"If I'm really pregnant and he finds out, he still might give me hell, though." she articulated her biggest fear.

"How long was it again till we know?" he asked.

"I should get my period next Wednesday. If not, I'll go and get a test." she told him.

"Ok, then we'll wait it out together until then. Like we discussed it, one step at a time." he tried to soothe her. And somehow it worked, his being so sure about it made her calm down a little.

"Yes. So, next I'll have to tell my kids. That I'm divorcing their father. That will be even harder. It will break their hearts and they have done nothing wrong to deserve that." she said.

"I know. But they're smart kids, and I guess they maybe have seen it coming a while with you throwing Peter out and all?" he asked tentatively .

"It will still hurt them so much to know for sure. And they will maybe blame themselves. I feel so bad already just thinking about it." she told him in a quiet, tearstained voice.

"It's gonna be all right. You're a great mother. To them - and if there is one you will be to our child as well." he said.

Their child. For a second the images in her head where overwhelming and she began to smile. But then shut it back down again. She couldn't dream of this child, it would be inconvenient and troublesome and maybe even dangerous to have it. Even without it, her whole life was changing now with finally getting a divorce. She was actually becoming more serious with another man, even if she still wasn't sure if that was the smartest thing to do.

"I am so tired now Will. We'll talk tomorrow, ok?" she asked him.

"Sure. Try and get some rest. I love you." he told her.

And no matter how unsure she sometimes still was about this, his simple declaration of love never failed to make her heart beat a little faster and her face split into a wide grin.

"I love you, too. Night." she answered and hung up the phone.

* * *

When she came home the next day she found Grace in the kitchen. She had promised Peter she was the one who would tell the kids before they went to see him over the weekend. While he was handling the official, public side. There was maybe an hour left before he would come to pick them up, so she called Zach to the kitchen as well. This was not something that got easier the more time passed, so she could as well just get it over with.

"Mom, what's up?" Grace wanted to know. She was always more impatient and insecure than her brother, and she clearly sensed that something was wrong by her tense posture.

"Your Dad and I...well we tried to explain to you before that we were trying to work things out between us. But it seems...we won't make it. So I've asked your father for a divorce." she said it out directly.

Zach looked not so surprised, but Grace let out an audible gasp and her eyes widened in shock.

"But Mom! Why can't you work it out? Don't you love him anymore?" she wanted to know.

"Sweety, it's not that simple." How was she to explain to her teenage girl that she fell out of love with him and just couldn't trust him anymore? But before she was able to say more, Grace started to cry and ran out of the room. Alicia wanted to go after her but just left her for now. She didn't know what to say anyway and just mere words of consolation would not fall on nurturing grounds if she was upset like that.

"I'm so sorry. I know it must be hard but I need to do this now." she told Zach.

He nodded.

"I know. Dad told me...that there was another woman apart from Amber Madison." he answered.

Alicia gasped.

"He what?" she said, shocked.

"Yes, I asked him what this was all about with you suddenly moving him out of the apartment on election night. And then he told me. That he'd hurt you more than we knew so far." he explained.

Alicia shook her head. He was only 16 years old but seemed so wise beyond his years. He gave her an emphatic smile and came over, hugging her, then left for his room to pack his things.

Soon afterwards Peter came to pick the kids up. She called out for them to tell them their father was there.

"How could you tell Zach? About the fact that you slept with Kalinda?" she hissed at him.

He narrowed his gaze.

"Well, he asked me. And I didn't mention her by name, just pointed out there was another woman." he said.

"That's not an appropriate subject to talk to your 16 year old son about!" she hissed under her breath, making sure not to be overheard in case the kids came up behind her.

"Well as I said, he was the one to bring it up, so what should I have said. You should be glad. You can blame it all on me and come out clean." he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. She wanted to slap him then and there.

"You _are_ the one to blame!" she exclaimed, louder than she'd planed.

"Yes maybe. But not for giving up so easily. I wanted to fight to get you back but you wouldn't even give me a chance again." he told her.

Before she could say more, she heard the kids come up behind them, robbing her of her chance to ask him how many more chances he expected he was going to get. So she said goodbye to the kids, Grace was avoiding her gaze as well as Peter's and just went out behind her brother. Alicia sighed. This had not gone so well, at least with Grace. Zach would be ok, but she worried for her teenage daughter. And the fact that she maybe was in for another round of raising a child made her sick then and there.

* * *

sooo AW are back. And possibly in for a baby :P What do you think will happen? :D


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I didn't want to update so early but the ammount of reviews I got were soooo nice :) And I thought after the last episode we can all use some happy AW. So, here comes the next chapter. I was NOT entirely sure about the rating so if anyone finds this is not appropriate for T-Rating anymore please message me and I'll change it instantly.

* * *

Chapter 2

She had said to Will she would call him once Peter had picked up the kids and then they could discuss what they wanted to do for the evening. But she felt like she needed him now, needed to just be held. She was upset and unhappy, the whole thing with telling her family about the divorce while knowing she would soon maybe have to tell them about being pregnant as well was more than bad. So she just picked up her keys and purse and left the apartment, driving over to Will's place.

She arrived and knocked at his door, he opened it and smiled at her softly, if he was surprised to find her here unannounced he didn't show it.

"Hey Baby. Come in." he just greeted her and she went inside and did what she had felt the pressing need to do all day: Hug him tightly to her and feel his warmth that never failed to comfort her. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her to him, pressing a soft kiss to her hair.

"I take it, it didn't go so well with the kids?" he asked her quietly.

She just shook her head against him, not yet ready to let go or step out of his embrace. So he just remained where he was, unmoving with the exception of his hands stroking her back softly. Finally she pulled away a bit with a deep sigh, reaching up for a kiss.

"Are you staying the night?" he suddenly asked.

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Uhm, why? I mean...I guess so, if that's all right with you." she answered, a little unsure why he was asking.

He chuckled softly.

"Don't be silly, of course it's all right. And as you are staying here and not driving anymore I can offer you a huge glass of wine now." he said with a wide smile. She smiled as well, that would really help her mood now and help her relax. Until a realization hit her.

"Will. I can't drink. I might be pregnant." she said.

He gasped and his expression changed to embarrassed and lightly shocked.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't think of that. Crap. I'm such an idiot." he exclaimed.

She walked over to the couch and sat down.

"It's ok. It's still so early and I didn't think about it at first either and was about to accept your offer. Don't beat yourself up." she told him.

He came over and sat down next to her, pulling her against his side.

"It will take a lot of getting used to. So, if you are really pregnant, what else can't you do?" he wanted to know. She grinned. She found it funny but incredibly cute that he was already wrecking his brain about things like that.

"Well, I will also have to cut the coffee. Decaf would be optimal. And I need to be more careful not to work too hard and avoid stress. Basically anything that's bad for me will be bad for the baby. _Would _be." she corrected herself. If they were talking like that it was so easy to imagine baby Daniel or Josephine being reality. As they had even basically picked the names already the weekend before.

"What about sex?" he wanted to know, ripping her out of her reveries. Suddenly she burst out laughing, leave it to a guy to come up with that question of all things.

"What? Why is that so funny, I really want to know. I'm...well wouldn't I hurt the baby maybe?" he asked, obviously not finding it funny at all. She curbed her laughter and reached up to give him a soft kiss.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. It's a valid question, you are right. And you don't need to worry. Physically that's not a problem. You'll just have to work around hormone induced mood changes, that's all." she said, still giggling a little.

Now Will couldn't keep his grin at bay, either.

"Oh so you're saying I'll have to be extra charming to get you to sleep with me? Well that should not be a problem. You know, I'm talented that way." he said and pulled her closer for another kiss, one that was deeper and more heated right away. She accepted it, kissing him back and moaning softly into the kiss with approval as he let his hands wander under her shirt.

"What are you doing?" she wanted to know with mock indignation.

"Taking advantage of the fact that you're still easy to have before the mood swings set in." he said and kept on kissing her.

She pulled back from him, giggling.

"You know, mood changes can go both ways. So maybe at some point you'll be glad if you don't have to do it with me for one day for a change." she told him, wiggling her eyebrow.

His smile became even more smug at the mention of that fact.

"Never." he just told her and repositioned her a little in his arms, getting up and carrying her to his bedroom, killing all the lights as he went.

He took her to bed, helping her take off all her clothes before laying her down, then undressed himself and followed her. Their naked bodies touched as he slid on top of her, kissing her unhurriedly all over. He suddenly stopped and looked at her.

"Will. Why did you stop?" she asked. She needed him now, she was thankful for his slow and gentle pace right now but not progressing any more at all was not an option for her now.

"Uhm. I am not sure how this works exactly but if you are not pregnant and we don't use a condom now, couldn't you... I mean..." he asked her.

She flinched and cursed out loudly.

"Oh God, I forgot all about that. You are completely right. Damn it." she shook her head, the mood completely ruined for now, feeling like she was finally about to cry. This all was like a nightmare and now she wasn't even able to get something so easy as sleeping with the man she loved done properly. Will seemed to be able to tell there was something going on because he moved off her right away, cradling her to his side.

"Sh Baby, it's ok. You have a lot on your mind but we are in this now together and you see, as long as we keep talking about it all we're going to be fine. And you're maybe not even pregnant in the first place, so then it will be all over soon." he tried to soothe her.

"But will it, really? I've set things into motion already. I've asked Peter for the divorce, and now my daughter hates me. She doesn't understand why we can't be a family again." she said, a single tear escaping her eyes.

"But you did that before things even started between us. By throwing Peter out. Didn't you have the intention then already to divorce him at some point?" he wanted to know.

She nodded.

"Yes sure, but I wished I'd had more time before I had to tell Grace. Zach took it really well, but he's almost 2 years older and he understands things like this better. But Grace is so much more vulnerable and still so naive on the matters of love and all that. She just doesn't understand it and Peter's affair has hurt her so much already. I feel like I'm just twisting the knife now." she tried to explain to him.

"Don't you think she will come around if you give her some time?" he asked her. She sighed.

"I really hope she does. I will try and talk to her again on Monday." she answered.

"Yes and maybe then she'll have gained some perspective. Let's just sleep now, ok?" he suggested, hugging her close to him.

"But...I thought we were..." she started, but Will cut her off with a kiss.

"It's ok Baby. We can do that another time. Remember, we're a couple now, there will be more chances to do that over the weekend. Just go to sleep now, you must be exhausted." he told her. She sighed. She actually was, even if it wasn't that late. The emotional up and down was really taking its toll indeed. So she snuggled under the covers and Will pressed a soft kiss to her head.

"Night Baby." he whispered and she smiled. This felt so good, so normal and even without the sex it felt a thousand times better than sleeping at home alone in her own bed.

* * *

soooo we still don't know if she's pregnant. Well Alicia surely seems to think she is. Women's intuition? :D The review button is my best friend, he likes to be clicked on :P


	3. Chapter 3

Ok, some of you wanted to kill Grace already :D Well I hope this chapter will make you think better of her :)

* * *

The next day they got up and had breakfast at Will's place, then drove over to Alicia's apartment because they had a Monday morning court date they needed to prepare and she had forgotten to bring the files with her. Will had appointed Alicia to be his second chair - the client being a young woman that could relate better to a female lawyer. And of course because that way it would not be suspicious them being seen together outside the court building - like say across the street in the hotel lobby, where they could always claim they were for lunch.

So they spread out the papers on the dining table and got to work. Alicia didn't even check for the time passing, but suddenly there was the sound of the front door being unlocked, followed by footsteps.

"Mom, I'm home." Grace called out. Alicia jumped up, looking back and forth between the papers and Will. The whole thing was looking innocent enough she guessed, and could easily pass as just work. Still, she felt badly and like caught doing something wrong. Her daughter appeared in sight.

"Grace. What are you doing here? You are supposed to be at your father's." she stated the obvious.

"Uhm. Hi Mom." Grace stopped, looking over to where Will was sitting, a questioning look on her face.

Will gave her a small wave.

"Hi. I'm Will." he just stated with a smile that Alicia would easily label his best charm smile. Still, Grace did not seem to be too impressed.

"We are working." Alicia stated the obvious once more. Well she really hoped that was what her daughter was thinking they were doing. She scolded herself mentally to get a grip and to relax.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about something important." Grace said, the look on her face showing it was something she was clearly uncomfortable with.

Will cleared his throat.

"Well we are practically done here anyway, I'll take the files with me and prepare the rest alone and bring you up to speed Monday morning before court." Will supplied, starting to gather papers.

Alicia sighed, she didn't want him to go. The plans for the rest of the day had been to finish up the papers, then order dinner and watch a movie, and of course Alicia had hoped they could finally have sex then. But those plans seemed to be falling through now. But she was thankful for Will behaving like that, because her daughter of course came first and she seemed to have a problem, so it was very helpful and sweet of him to realize that.

He'd gathered up all the papers and put them in the huge folder that he was now holding. He nodded at Grace.

"It was nice finally meeting you. Bye." he told her with his charming smile again and this time Grace smiled back.

"Yes, likewise. Bye Will." she said.

They walked towards the door and stood there face to face for a second, the temptation to kiss him goodbye nearly overwhelming her but they couldn't risk that.

"Bye Will. Sorry... I'll call you later, ok?" she asked him.

He nodded and gave her a soft smile.

"It's ok. Your daughter comes first. We'll talk later." he said, then left.

Alicia sighed and went back inside the living room, where Grace had sat down on the couch.

"I'm sorry Mom, I didn't want to interrupt something." she said, a little insecurely.

She sat down and pulled her daughter to her.

"It's ok Sweety, it really is. So what is it that you wanted to talk to me about? Did something happen? " she asked her. She really hoped Peter hadn't said something to hurt her even further, she couldn't imagine he would but she also had no idea what else this could be regarding if not the divorce.

Grace sighed deeply and shook her head.

"Zach told me." she just said.

Alicia furrowed her brows. She didn't understand.

"Told you what?" she asked to clarify.

"About you and Dad. And that there had been other women. I didn't know he cheated on you again, Mom. You should have told us." she said, snuggling to her mother's side.

"Oh God Sweety, I'm so sorry. I didn't tell you because I wanted to protect you. It was all between your Dad and me and we really tried. _I _really tried but I just couldn't find it in me to fully trust your father again. It was all around the same time but he didn't tell me the full truth and I only found it out later. And I don't want your relationship with him to suffer from it, so I never told you more. You were hurt enough already." she explained, soothing her daughters tears that were silently falling.

"But it wasn't your fault, and I was mean with you. I'm sorry." Grace stated.

Alicia hugged her to her tightly, kissing her hair softly.

"It's ok, I get that you were hurt. I was so hurt for a long time but I've healed now. I guess that's why I finally could ask your father for a divorce. I moved him out of the apartment. And I felt relieved that I had done it. I still want to be friendly with him for your sake but that doesn't mean we have to keep living together just for your sake. You understand that, don't you?" she asked.

Grace nodded.

"Yes. I do." she said. They remained seated like that for a while quietly.

Suddenly Grace moved away a little, looking at her mother questioningly.

"So, about Will...that was the Will, like your boss, right?" Grace wanted to know.

Alicia had to smile by the mention of his name.

"Yes, that's him." she answered.

"So, is he... I mean... is he your boyfriend, Mom?" Grace asked, looking at her inquiringly.

Alicia gasped.

"What? What makes you think that?" she wanted to know. Crap. She'd thought they were being totally inconspicuous.

Now Grace smiled a little.

"Well, I heard you two talking on the phone...around the time you left and Dad followed you out to the street and was nearly arrested. You were yelling and I heard you were going out to dinner with Will. And...well the way you two looked at each other. How he was so eager to leave all of a sudden." she stated.

Alicia watched her daughter with amazement. She really was very smart and perceptive, you had to give her that.

"What would you say if he were?" she wanted to know, testing the waters slowly and carefully.

"I don't know. I just want you to be happy, Mom." she answered. Alicia hugged her closer again.

"Well. I don't call him my boyfriend. It sounds like being 15 again. But we have been seeing each other now for a couple of weeks." Alicia finally admitted, feeling Grace tense a little in her arms.

"Is he the reason for the divorce?" she asked.

Alicia sighed. She'd been thinking about that for a couple of days now. She'd come to the conclusion, if not for Will she'd probably not have had the courage to take the final step away from Peter, not yet anyway. So without him she'd probably just be stuck in a loveless marriage in forever until she would divorced Peter after all. So Will was not the reason for this. But he was the motivation.

"No. He's not. And he didn't pressure me to do this or something. It's just...the circumstances." _The baby. _How should she tell her daughter if anything was the reason it wasn't Will. But the baby.

"So, are you happy with him, Mom?" Grace asked.

Alicia smiled. That was an easy question.

"Yes I am. Very happy." she answered.

"I'm sorry I chased him away." she said.

Alicia laughed and shook her head.

"It's ok, he understands. He knows you are always my first priority. You do know that you are, no matter what happens, right?" she asked.

Grace nodded.

"Yes Mom. But you should maybe call him...do you think he would want to have dinner with us?" she asked.

Alicia stared at her unbelieving.

"Do you really mean that? Because I'm sure he would love to." she answered.

Grace smiled.

"Yes I am sure. If you are together I think it won't harm that I get to know him better?" she asked.

"No, it won't. You'll like him. He's a really good guy and fun to be with. But only if it's really ok with you. I won't pressure you to do this." Alicia told her, making sure this was all right even though her heart was beating quicker with happiness already.

"Yes Mom, it's all right. Just call him." she answered with a grin.

"Thank you, Grace. This means a lot to me. And it will mean a lot to Will, I know that."

She got her phone and dialed his number.

"Hey. So, listen, what do you say to coming back over and me and Grace are cooking you dinner?" she asked, hearing Will gasp on the other end.

"What? Are you serious? How?" he wanted to know, the excitement in his voice clearly audible.

"Yes, I'm serious. I've talked with Grace. She wants to get to know my boyfriend." she said, making herself and Grace giggle. It really sounded so stupid - but oh so good calling him that.

"I see. Well ok then. I'll be back later tonight then. Is 6 PM a good time?" he wanted to know.

"It's perfect." she answered.

"Ok. I'll be there. Looking forward to it. Love you, bye." he said.

"Bye Will." she just said, hanging up the phone, not quite daring to tell him she loved him with Grace present like this. But she was sure he would understand. He was such a great guy, she was sure he did.

* * *

A/N: We saw hints later on that Grace did very well grasp from early on that there was something between her Mom and Will. And she also wants her mother happy. And she's her Moms' daughter so why should she be immune to Will's charms :D It was fun to write her nice and understanding for once :) I love nice and easy Gracie. Let's see if she'll stay this way over dinner :P


	4. Chapter 4

Alicia went to greet Will at the door, pulling him in for a quick kiss. Grace was still in the kitchen, plus she knew now about her and Will, so a short kiss was ok she figured.

"Hey. Thanks for inviting me. That was surely unexpected." he told her.

"Not only to you. We talked some more about the divorce, and then she asked me about you and if you were my boyfriend. So I told her that you were. And she said I should ask you over for dinner." she explained.

"Wow. I am flattered. And more than a little nervous. Instead of preparing more for the case on Monday I actually prepared for this meeting. I researched what teens these days like, what kind of music and all that. I saw some very crazy and mildly disturbing pictures of an artist calling herself "Lady Gaga" that seems to have an interesting taste in outfits." he said, looking a little lost.

Alicia laughed at that, imagining him sitting there and listening to teen music.

"Yeah, now you laugh, just wait till I totally impress her with my newfound knowledge on current pop culture." he bragged.

"We will see about that. Let's go inside then, Grace is in the kitchen and holding the fort down." she said and preceded him there, Will followed closely behind.

"Grace, our guest is here." she announced his presence.

Will walked over to her now instead of greeting her from afar like earlier and extended his hand.

"Hi. Again. I hear, inviting me over was your idea. So, thank you for that." he said, again using his charm smile on her. Grace smiled, wiped her hand off and shook his.

"You are welcome." she said, then went back to slicing tomatoes for the salad.

"So, what are you ladies cooking? Can I help with something?" he wanted to know.

"Can you cook?" Grace asked him.

He shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm not totally helpless in the kitchen." he said. Alicia grinned, knowing that this was a total understatement.

"You know Grace, the pancakes you like so much, I actually learned how to make them like that from Will back in college." she said, the memory of that day still very vivid in her mind. Her Mom never had made them pancakes so Alicia hadn't really known how to make them from scratch, not using a mix.

Grace gasped.

"Really? Wow. I had no idea." she exclaimed.

Will shook his head with a smile, obviously thinking back to that day now as well.

"Yeah, I grew up with 2 sisters. So I picked the one or the other thing up I guess. So yeah, if there is something I can do to help, just tell me what." he said.

Alicia directed him to sit down by the kitchen island.

"Don't worry. We got it covered. Just sit down." she told him, squeezing his arm softly.

* * *

They sat down at the dinner table and started eating.

"Wow it's really delicious. Thank you. Maybe next time I should cook for you...if you want me to, that is. As we've already established, I can, I just normally don't have the time or muse to cook for just me." Will said, looking back and forth between Alicia and Grace. Alicia could tell he felt a little unsure if he maybe overstepped with his offer but she just grinned, and Grace did not seem to mind either.

"Sure, that would be nice for a change, not having to do all the work." she told him and winked.

Grace smiled as well and nodded. They ate on in silence, until Will cleared his throat.

"So Grace, can I ask you what you are interested in doing in your free time?" he wanted to know. She looked at him, a little amazed as she realized he really was genuinely interested in that.

"I don't know, several things. Reading, sports... oh by the way, Mom, there will be soon tryouts for the soccer team again and I've decided to give it another try." she said.

That made Will look a little unbelieving.

"You play soccer? Really?" he asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I, because I am a girl?" she asked a little defensively. Alicia nearly wanted to say something, explain that he surely hadn't meant it like this. But Will just laughed.

"No, I was just surprised I guess because your Mom never was much into sports. Ok, well she played some tennis, but wasn't really that good." he said, looking at Alicia with a teasing smile.

Grace had to laugh about that.

"Yeah well, so do you play soccer?" she asked him back.

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Well my games are more baseball and basketball but I can do soccer. Do you need any help preparing for the tryouts? I guess I could help you out there a little if you'd be interested." he offered.

Alicia and Grace both gasped. Alicia because knowing her daughter she knew that could as well backfire. And Grace as it turned out because she was totally down with that idea.

"What, you would really do that? Because last time I tried I didn't make the team." she explained.

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Yes, sure. Just let me know when it fits and then we'll work out a date." he told her.

Alicia shook her head, smilingly observing how the both of them suddenly were exchanging pleasantries with each other and having a natural conversation going.

The rest of the meal continued like that and they talked some more. At some point Will smiled at Alicia and then started to get up.

"Well this was a fun evening, but I'm going home now. I have much work tomorrow still." Will said.

Grace looked at him skeptically.

"But tomorrow is Sunday. The bible teaches us not to work then." she told him.

He looked at her, a little confused at first, then recalled Alicia once mentioning that Grace was into the religious stuff. Alicia stared at him in shock but wasn't able to interfere so she just had to wait what his answer would be.

"Yeah well ideally you shouldn't. But then again, I'm preparing so I can help my client on Monday morning. If I don't do that, she will lose her case and that won't be good. And with law cases it's so much to prepare that sometimes unfortunately you can't get all the work done within the regular office hours so you can meet a deadline. I'm sure you've caught up on some homework before on a Sunday, right?" he asked her.

Alicia had to grin about that a little. So far no one ever had found a really good answer to Grace's questions fueled by her beliefs. But Will just seemed to have managed just that, and in a way that was totally reasonable and without being insulting or dismissive of her faith. She would have loved to hug him for that alone now.

Grace considered what to answer but couldn't come up with a clever remark all of a sudden. So she just shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah ok, it does make sense I guess if you see it that way." she admitted.

Will smiled at her softly.

"So yeah, but I can promise I'll relax in the evening and watch some sports game on TV." he said with a joking undertone and Grace actually laughed about that. Alicia wanted to ask him what he'd done with her daughter. But then it dawned on her that she was probably just as weak against the Will Gardner charm as her own mother.

"Ok. So, have a nice evening and a good day tomorrow." Grace said, then made her way to her room.

Will and Alicia made their way into the hall and then came to stand by the door once more. Alicia moved in for a gentle, unhurried kiss. It was sad to say goodbye to him for the second time today but at least she'd got to spend this incredibly well going evening with Will and her daughter.

"Ok, one of these days you'll have to tell me how you did that just now. I don't think no one has ever charmed my little girl into submission like you did just now. It was actually a little scary to see but oh so great. She totally loves you. I'm relieved." she admitted.

He laughed.

"I have no idea how I did it, seriously. But I'm glad it was working so well. She is a bright kid and I had the best evening. So now I'll drive home and miss you insanely in my bed." he told her and leaned in for another kiss. She sighed.

"I know. I'll miss you too. But you know that this evening was the first step towards you maybe soon being allowed to sleep over even if the kids are here. But I just don't want to pressure her with it. She seems to like you all right now but I don't want to push my luck." she explained.

He smiled.

"I know. You don't need to explain. I totally get it. I love you. Night." he said and kissed her a last time, then went out the door. Alicia shook her head, then went back inside the apartment, putting the used dishes in the washer and then going to Grace's room.

"Hey. Thank you for tonight. It went rather well, don't you think?" she asked her daughter.

Grace smiled.

"Yes. He's a really nice guy and I like that he offered to play soccer with me. Will Dad be ok with that, though?" she wanted to know.

Alicia flinched.

"Well, actually your Dad doesn't even know yet about Will. I was only gonna tell him about the divorce for now...one step at a time, and you should not have gotten to know him so early, actually." she confessed.

"But Mom, what should I tell Dad, then?" she asked.

"I'll have to talk to your Dad anyway soon again, then I'm going to tell him about Will, ok?" she answered.

"Ok Mom." she said.

Alicia left her daughters room and set out to do some laundry. She wasn't looking forward to telling Peter about Will. But she had to face it that she would need to maybe tell him about the baby soon. She shook her head. A baby. That would be so insane. She finished the laundry up and then went to the bathroom when she noticed it. It seemed like she'd gotten her period. For a moment she was shocked. Then it dawned on her. There was no baby.

* * *

surprise. There is no baby. Are we feeling as shocked as Alicia?


	5. Chapter 5

Ok. So judging by the reviews to the last chapter maybe this will not be recieved so well. But it was already written - so here it comes.

* * *

Alicia went to bed, still shocked. She should feel relieved now more than anything but somehow she couldn't. She felt all sorts of things, confusing things. Just minutes before she'd thought what a damn mess it would be to have this baby. And now that it was clear there was none she felt like she had lost something precious. _Will's baby_. She bit back the tears that were threatening to spill, but couldn't. So she gave up, allowing herself a moment to mourn something that wasn't even meant to be in the first place. She considered calling Will but figured she was far too upset now for that. Also that it was something that she would better tell him in person.

There was a soft knock on her door. She lifted her head and saw her daughter sticking her head inside.

"Mom? Are you ok?" she wanted to know.

Alicia tried to hold back her tears but did a poor job of it. Grace came inside and climbed into bed beside her mother, cuddling up.

"Did you have a fight with Will? Was it about me?" she wanted to know.

Alicia gasped.

"Oh God, no Sweety. Nothing like that. Will loved the dinner and I'm sure if it were up to him we'd do it again very soon. It's something else." she said. How should she explain to her teenage daughter that she thought she was pregnant and didn't even want the baby but now that there was none she was sad?

"Ok Mom. You don't have to tell me." she said, cuddling up some more.

"Oh Sweety. Thank you." she just said, still trying to decide what she could tell her daughter or not.

The next she knew she startled awake. She looked at the alarm clock that read 1:30 AM. Grace was asleep, still cuddled up to her. That filled her with warmth and nearly burst her heart with love for her daughter. She shook her softly.

"Grace. Wake up. We fell asleep fully clothed." she whispered.

The girl began to stir next to her, then sat up.

"Do you feel any better? Do you need me to stay?" she wanted to know.

Alicia smiled. For a second she actually had forgotten the reason she was sad. She sighed. It maybe was better this way. She had two beautiful and amazing kids already, so maybe she should just be content with that.

"It's ok, just go to your own bed now. I'll be fine." she told her reassuringly.

"Ok Mom." Grace answered and climbed out of bed, leaving for her own room. Alicia sighed, she went to the bathroom quickly, then discarded of her clothes and put on some PJs before going back to bed. Gladly she was able to go back to sleep rather quickly.

* * *

After having breakfast with Grace she'd told her she needed to drive over to Will's for a couple of hours, but would be back for lunch.

So here she was, in front of Will's door, knocking. He opened and made a surprised face.

"Hey, I didn't expect you. Come in!" he greeted her, stepping inside and letting her enter.

She took a deep breath, going over the little speech she had prepared in her mind on the drive over. She needed to tell him, but was sure he would be relieved.

"Hey." she just replied, lamely. All the prepared words falling away and getting replaced by this odd sense of loss again.

"Are you all right?" he asked, his voice suddenly more serious. Damn, so much for keeping a poker face.

"There is no baby, Will." she just said, not able to keep her voice from breaking.

"There...what? I don't understand." he answered.

"I just got my period. There is no baby." she said, tearing up a little despite her best efforts.

"What? But I thought that was only due next week? Are you ok? I mean...this is a good thing, right?" he asked.

"Yeah well, with forgetting the pill a couple of time and I guess with the morning after pill it can happen a little earlier." she answered, the first tear escaping her now. She shouldn't be crying about this, not again, not in front of him. What was he supposed to think?

"Are you ok? I mean, we said that it would be the worst timing now to have this baby, so this is clearly for the better, right?" he asked again, obviously surprised by her emotional outbreak being in conflict with what they had discussed so far.

She wiped the tears off her face, trying not to let any more follow.

"I know. But I guess I was actually looking forward to it just a little bit...I...I always wanted a third child, you know. But it was hard with the 2 we had already...so...we never got around to it." she admitted, something she'd never told to anyone else before.

Will stepped in and hugged her closely to him, a gesture that made her crying worse again.

"Oh poor love, I'm so sorry. You know what, I am not really relieved now, either. I was seeing this baby before me already as well I guess, and even though I don't know the first thing about parenthood...I think I was ready for it finally. I mean, I realized it with Grace yesterday. For a weird moment I had the feeling we were an actual family and she was my daughter. It was so scary but felt so right." he told her, making her flinch just a little bit.

"Oh God, Will, what are we going to do?" she wanted to know, pulling back now and looking at him.

"Come inside the living room with me for now so we can sit down." he told her, leading her over.

"I just made coffee, do you want a cup? I mean..." she just nodded. Now that she wasn't pregnant she could easily have another cup of regular coffee. She'd rather have passed up on the coffee though she thought bitterly.

He brought her the coffee and sat down next to her.

"Ok. I'm going to say something now and want you to hear me out." he told her.

She looked at him.

"Ok? What?" she wanted to know.

"Well, if we both really wanted this baby and are sad that there is none...then we should probably embrace it...and actually try for one." he said.

She gasped. The thought was totally crazy, but still it made her feel unreasonably happy.

"That's insane. You know it is." she told him, trying to appeal to his logic.

"But is it, really? We love each other. We both wanted this baby. You said you always wanted another child. And I never really wanted kids and a family...until you finally gave me a chance. I know the thing between us is still relatively new and I'm not saying we should start right now, but we should consider it." he said.

She stared at him, unbelieving. And a little scared because he had a point there. He really wanted a family. He wanted a family with her. She realized in that moment how amazing it would be to have that with him. The perfect dream. But then there were so many obstacles still to face. She told him that.

"But my divorce needs still to be finalized. And even if Peter and me can come to a quick settlement it will still be at least half a year before it's through. We would need to tell my kids about it and how serious our involvement really is. We would need to find a bigger place together. And there is still the work situation to figure out..." she listed everything.

Will just smiled at her.

"What?" she asked him, not getting why he was smiling like this all of a sudden.

"Well, if that's your way of telling me you want to move in with me, I'll gladly accept." he told her.

She punched his shoulder playfully and couldn't keep from smiling a little, either.

"Well you were the one to suggest we make a baby. My apartment will soon be too small and so is yours. I'm only trying to assess the necessary steps we'd have to take." she answered.

He pulled her closely to him.

"I know. But as I've said before. We'll figure it all out as we go. And we don't have to decide this right away, and even if we start trying it doesn't mean that it will work right away. I love you. So just promise you'll not just dismiss the idea, but think about it." he told her.

"I love you, too. And yes, I will think about it. In the meantime I'll have to tell Peter that we're together. With Grace now having met you and knowing about us I'm putting her in an unfair position if I don't. So we'll see how the divorce proceedings will go after I do that." she told him.

"Well, with David Lee you do have the best divorce lawyer. He's not always the best person but he knows how to get his job done. So if Peter is really putting up a fight he'll be able to help out with that." he told her.

"Yes. But I don't want to divorce him angry and fighting about it. For the sake of the kids I hope we'll come to a good and amicable settlement on our own." she explained.

"I get that and it would be the best for everyone, I agree." he said.

She leaned in and kissed him, gently and slowly, just enjoying the feeling of his lips on hers.

"Ok, I have to go home again, I left Grace alone and told her I'd be back for lunch. I just wanted to tell you this in person." she explained.

"Yes, I understand. Tell her I said hi, ok?" he told her.

She nodded, the connection that was forming between the two of them was really warming her heart, and she couldn't imagine Zach not liking Will for he was normally far more agreeable about things like this. So maybe they could really have a future as one big, happy family. She liked the idea of that.

* * *

Surprise again. There might be a baby after all. Sorry for the confusion...are we still ok with this? :P


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks to Josie for helping me make this chapter so much better 3

Chapter 6

In the afternoon Peter brought Zach over. Alicia had called him and said he should come up as well rather than just drop Zach off because she wanted to talk to him. She had promised Grace she would tell Peter soon, so why put it off any longer?

She intercepted him outside the door, pulling it closed behind her. She didn't want him inside the apartment and didn't want the kids to hear the argument.

"Ok, so what did you want to talk to me about?" he asked her, looking at her suspiciously.

She sighed. _Here we go_, she thought. This would not be pleasant.

"I thought you should know...Will and me are together now." she said, flinching at how bad this had to sound to his ears. Sure enough he gasped.

"You what? And you thought you'd just summon me here to tell me that? Why? Is that your way of getting back at me?" he wanted to know, anger in his voice.

"Well, I thought you should know. When Grace came home Saturday she found Will here..." she wanted to explain but Peter cut her off in a burst of anger.

"He was what? So you let your daughter walk in on you and your lover? How can you? Why don't you at least have the decency to go fuck him at his place where at least the kids can't find you?" he nearly yelled now.

"It wasn't like that, you should know me better, I would never do that. We were working. She didn't see a thing. Still she figured it out that there was something going on between him and me and we had dinner with him." she explained. As she'd expected that made Peter even more angry.

"You are unbelievable. The divorce papers are not even signed and you are already replacing me completely? You know what, you can do what you want, but don't think I'll stand idly by why you force your lover on our kids." he spat out.

"No Peter, you've got it all wrong. I'd never force them to anything, but it was Grace's idea and I asked her several times if she was really ok with this. Will didn't even sleep over, it was all innocent. We just had dinner and they got to know each other. That's all." she said, trying to keep her voice down and not get sucked into a yelling match with him.

"Well you seem to have it all figured out. Don't think I'll stand for giving up much time with my kids on his behalf. I may not be able to keep him from replacing me in your bed but I am very well able to keep him from replacing me as their father. I'll fight you for custody before I let that happen." he told her, the threat in his voice obvious.

"Oh really, I'd love to see you try that, like a single father that has a taste for expensive whores would create such a healthy environment to raise kids." she snapped back at him.

He just stared at her coldly.

"Sure, suit yourself, cut right into old wounds, that's ok. Bring that one up whenever it's fitting." he sneered.

"I don't have to bring it up, but if you want to go to war with me over this, I will. Just imagine how this will look like to the family court, there is you on the one side that was sleeping with hookers and abusing your power of office to fuck your underlings. I'm sure I can get Kalinda to testify to that effect. She kind of owes me one after acting like she was my friend and never telling me how you had sex. So yeah, and I'll be on the other side, about to start a new family with a new and great guy, who your daughter completely admires, by the way. So, you don't want to fight me on this Peter, if you want to keep on seeing your kids on a regular basis." she told him, matching his icy tone. She wished she wouldn't have to go there, but she would if he didn't agree to settle this peacefully.

"Wow, what has become of you? I almost don't realize you anymore, you're so cold." he told her, but she could read in his face that she'd won, something that filled her with triumph and satisfaction. That she could take him down like this.

"Yeah well you were the one that made me like this in the first place. But I really don't want to go there, and neither are you. We are both grownups and we should be able to work something out amicably for the sake of our kids, don't you agree?"

He just kept on glaring at her.

"Well, it's not like you're leaving me much of a choice. But I do agree, the kids should not be hurt more in this. I don't really believe you'd go there but frankly even the thought is appalling, so yeah, we'll work something out. You shouldn't forget though that they are still my kids, not Will Gardner's." he told her.

"I won't. But _you_ should not forget that Will is not the enemy here. Even though you might not believe it he has nothing or very little to do with my decision to divorce you."

"Yeah well, I'll have to live with that now and take your word for it, don't I?" he said, bitterness in his voice.

"Yes. I guess so." she answered coolly.

He started to leave, but turned back around.

"We should sit down with our lawyers then soon and work the whole thing out. If we can find a good agreement about the kids I'm willing to make this quick and not draw it out any longer. They are the most important thing in all of this. I don't care for anything else." he said decisively.

She nodded, glad that they seemed to reach an agreement after all.

"I agree. And I'm sure we can work something out about the kids." she told him.

"Ok, so I'll try to set something up for this week. I'll call you." he said. With that he left.

* * *

Zach and Grace came into the kitchen a little bit later.

"So Mom, is it true that you have a boyfriend now?" Zach asked her.

She looked at him in surprise.

"Uhm, I told him, Mom." Grace threw in.

She smiled and nodded.

"Yes, Zach, I'm seeing someone for a couple of weeks now." she answered.

"So when do I get to meet him? Since Grace already did?" he wanted to know.

"We could invite him over for dinner again today." Grace said.

Alicia looked back and forth between her kids.

"I'm not sure, it'd be on a relatively short notice. But I can call him and ask." she said.

As both of her kids seemed to be ok with the idea she retrieved her phone, only thinking briefly about what Peter would say. But he would come around. They'd work out a custody settlement and then it would all calm down.

* * *

Will was there half an hour later.

"Hey. What a pleasant surprise to see you again tonight. I could totally get used to that, you know." he said and stepped in to give her a brief kiss.

"Yes, I could get used to that as well." she said, smiling softly.

"So, to what do I owe this pleasure?" he joked.

"Well Grace told Zach about you and he wanted to meet you as well. You seem to have left a big impression on her. You can be mighty proud of that." she told him.

"Oh I am, don't worry. So let's see if I can make the same impression on Zach." he said.

* * *

Much later Alicia got ready for bed, picking up the phone and calling Will, that had gone home again after dinner.

"Hey. So, how's the verdict on Zach's side?" Will asked her.

She laughed softly.

"What do you think? He liked you of course. You are really doing well with my kids, I have no idea how you do that, but you are a total natural with them." she said, smiling brightly. It had been so good to see him interact with both their kids and it hadn't been awkward at all.

"Well, I'm glad. So if only Peter now could be as ok with us." he said.

She sighed.

"He'll come around. Of course he wasn't happy and at first it didn't go so well. But I made him agree to try for an amicable settlement, so we'll see what comes of it." she summarized the talk with Peter.

"Well, I'm glad. I don't want your kids to get hurt by this, either, and you know I'll do everything to make it easy one them." he said.

"Yes I know that. But the kids seem to be more than ok with you. Grace actually told me after you were gone I wouldn't have needed to send you home. That it was fine by them if you would have stayed the night." she told him. That one had been a little shock, and she'd told Grace it was ok, they didn't want them to feel uncomfortable knowing he was there at night, or finding him in the kitchen for breakfast. But she'd just shrugged her shoulders and told her she wouldn't.

"Oh damn, and you tell me this now? Hmn, I'd love to have stayed over." he told her.

"I know. But well, it's still...well that time of the month so yeah..." she said.

He chuckled.

"Dirty mind there? I could have still stayed over and held you in my arms. And woken up next to you." he told her, making her smile.

"True, you could have. But then again, let's just wait with that a little longer. They are ok for now if you'll come over more frequently and have dinner with us, we can watch a movie, too. But let's give them enough time to really adjust to the situation. I want to do this right. And they have to be the top priority." she told him.

"I know they are and I understand that. You're right. I can totally work with dinner and a movie, also I promised to cook for you girls anyway - of course Zach will be invited too. It might not do harm to have some male reinforcement by my side." he joked, making Alicia smile happily, glad that he was so understanding of the situation and not pressuring her.

"Thank you, Will. It means a lot to me." she told him.

"I know. You are important to me, and I want to get this right, too. So, I'll see you tomorrow at work." he said.

She sighed.

"Yes, work. Where no one is supposed to know about us." she answered.

"For now. When the time comes we'll just disclose our situation. We'll have Diane handling your financial and personal related stuff. It won't be a problem. I'm not letting the fact that you happen to work for me get in the way of us." he told her decisively.

She smiled at that.

"That does sound fantastic. Thanks Will, good night. I love you." she said, than hanging up the phone reluctantly.

* * *

Ok, I would have wanted to post the next chapter already along with this because it's SO cute and gives me feeeeeeels! :P So let me know what you thought of this ;-)


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: So here it finally is. Will playing soccer with Gracie. I loved writing this so much! 3

* * *

It was Thursday afternoon when Will had agreed to play some soccer with Grace. He had been over to dinner with Alicia and the kids again 2 days prior and they had agreed on this date. Will drove to Grace's school, picking her up and then took her to the gym where his basketball games were usually held.

They jogged around the court a few laps for warm up, Will had to smile and think back to when he'd gone running with Alicia a couple of times back in Georgetown but she hadn't been such an enduring and motivated runner at all. Grace seemed to do much better, she idly chatted about school stuff and how she's missed the last chance of getting accepted to the soccer team. After 10 minutes they stopped running and retrieved a ball. Will put it in the middle between them and grinned.

"Ok. So, show me what you've got." he teased her and kicked the ball gently into her direction. She started dribbling and ran across the field, ball always at her feet. He watched her for some time and when she came back in his direction he started running towards her, not yet attacking, just trying to block the way. She cut around him, extending one arm and shielding herself away from him. He started after her and tried to get his feet in between and to separate her from the ball, succeeding as she stumbled lightly and kicked the ball a little too hard.

Now he had the ball he moved around with Grace always running closely behind him, she tried to overtake him and cut into his path several times but he blocked her by extending his arm to the side, making sure not to do it too hard, though. Suddenly she cut to his other side behind his back, holding on to his shirt and throwing him a little off balance, getting the ball back.

"Hey! That was a foul!" he called in mock outrage. In reality he was enjoying this and he could not believe that she hadn't made the team the last time. She was really good at this.

She just laughed and kept on running and he shook his head and set after her again. They played like this for 15 more minutes until they were both panting and exhausted, agreeing to take a break.

"Wow, you play really well. For a girl." he told her, winking.

"Hey! I had no trouble keeping up with you!" she gave back.

"Yeah, I know. I'm just winding you up, you're really good at this and it's fun. We should do it more often." he said, not feeling weird anymore for wanting to spend time with her like that. She was an important part of the woman he loved more than anything in the world, and he saw much of her in Grace. Just that the daughter enjoyed the sports much more than the mother, that one was sure.

They drank some water and then got back to playing.

Will had the ball and ran off, Grace following closely behind, fighting hard until she had the ball back, grinning triumphantly and speeding off. Will pursued her, trying to kick the ball away from her when suddenly she stumbled, falling over and hitting the floor with a loud crack.

"Ouch!" she yelled, then sat upright, holding her right wrist.

Will was by her side instantly, kneeling down.

"Crap, are you ok?" he wanted to know, even though it was obvious she wasn't. Her knee was bleeding and she was still holding her wrist.

"I don't know, my wrist hurts." she told him.

"Do you think it's broken? Crap. I'm so sorry. I didn't want to hurt you." he cursed.

"It's ok, it wasn't your fault, it happens in the game." she let go of her wrist and moved the hand around carefully.

"I don't think it's broken." she said.

"Yeah, not taking any chances. Come, get up and sit down on the bench, I'm going to get a first aid kit and then we can clean up your knee wound a little. And then I'm taking you to the ER to get your wrist examined. Maybe you need an X-ray." he told her, then helped her get up.

She was walking ok, so at least her ankle was all right. He sat her down on the bench, then went to retrieve the medical kit, kneeling at her feet and spreading the kit open. He got some disinfectant.

"Ok, this might sting a little, hold on." he told her, then rubbed a sterile cloth dosed in the disinfectant over the bleeding cut, making her wince. He put a big band aid on it afterwards.

"See, all done." he said, then retrieved his phone, trying to call Alicia but didn't reach her. She was probably still in court. He left her a message to urgently call him back, not saying that something had happened with Grace just yet.

"Ok, I can't get a hold of your Mom, so I'm going to drive you to the ER now. Or do you want me to try your Dad?" he asked her. It was the last thing he wanted to do, but if Grace would feel more comfortable he would, even if Peter would probably freak out because he'd hurt his little girl.

She shook her head.

"No, I don't think that's necessary. I don't even have to go to the hospital, it's not hurting so baldy anymore." she told him, moving her hand as if to prove it.

"Yeah, not taking any chances there. Come on, let's go."

* * *

They drove to the hospital, Will trying Alicia again. As she still didn't pick up he went inside with Grace, to the reception desk.

"Hi, what can I help you with?" the nurse said.

"I fell down playing soccer and hurt my hand, but it's not even that bad." Grace answered. Will shook his head and grinned.

"Yeah, but we better have that checked out and make sure it's not broken. Your Mom is gonna kill me anyway so I would at least like to tell her that you're not hurt severely when I tell her the news." he said.

The nurse handed him a form.

"Ok Sir, you fill that out and sit over there. Your daughter will be called in for examination in about half an hour." she said.

Will flinched a little at the nurse referring to him as her father and looked over at Grace, who had an amused grin on her face. So he just let that one stand, turning around, and leading Grace over to the waiting area.

"That was funny, she actually thought you were my Dad." she said, laughing.

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, it's probably for the best, so they will make sure to keep me informed at least as long as we can't get a hold of your Mom." he told her. Glad that she wasn't scared or uncomfortable with people assuming he was her father.

"Yes. But really, it will be fine." she tried to assure him.

They filled out the information, Will insisting he do it for her so she could rest her hand some more.  
He asked her question after question, filling in all the details, thinking how that was another way of getting to know her better.

When they were done Wills phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and saw Alicia was the one calling.

"Hey, you tried to reach me? What is it that's so urgent? How'd it go with Grace?" she wanted to know.

"Yeah, about that, she had a little accident, don't worry, she's fine." he told her.

"I'm fine, Mom." Grace called in the background.

"Oh my God, Will, what happened? Is she hurt? Where are you?" Alicia inquired.

"She had a bleeding knee that I took care of in the gym and then I took her to the ER. She broke her fall with her right hand, but she can move it relatively well so chances are it's not broken. We just filled in the medical history chart, and are waiting for the doctor." he explained her.

"Damn it, are you ok handling this? I have to go back to the office now urgently, but I should see if I can get around that..." he cut her off.

"No Alicia, it's ok, I've got it covered. You can always call Peter if you want one of you to be here, though." he suggested to her as well now.

"No, that won't be the best idea. Giver her to me, though." she said.

He handed the phone over.

"Hi Mom. I'm really ok, and Will is a little freaked out, but he's taking good care of me I would say." she said, grinning at him teasingly. He gave her a look of mock hurt.

"Yeah. No, it's not that bad. I promise, yes, we'll be fine. Yes. Dinner, tonight. Bye Mom."

She handed the phone back to him.

"Alicia?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I'm still here. Ok, so I have to run now to catch my next client meeting. Keep me updated via text ok, I'll call you back if something important comes up. Will you be ok, I mean, if you have to sign something..." she wanted to know.

He grinned.

"Yeah about that, they seem to assume I'm her father and I let them believe that now so they would not shut me out and keep me in the loop. I hope that's ok for you." he said.

She gasped, but then replied.

"Sure, ok, then you will be good. Just keep me updated, ok?" she said.

"I will. Bye, see you later." he said.

* * *

Later after dinner Alicia and Will were sitting on the couch, cuddled up with each other, Alicia with her glass of wine in hand.

"That was an eventful day. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for Grace to get hurt in this. I should have been more careful, but she really just tripped and fell and there was nothing I could do." he explained.

"Yeah well, it's not broken and she will be all healed up soon again. Thank you though for taking care of her like this. And staying with her all the time." she replied.

"That was the least I could do!" he told her.

"I know, but it means a lot to me, and it surely does mean a lot to her." she answered him.

"Hmn, and I can tell you something, she's really good at soccer. And it was so much fun to play with her. She is an amazing kid." he told her and pulled her close for a gentle kiss, one that had to be broken off before it could get to heated.

"I know, she really is and I'm really glad that the two of you found something to bond over. I hope it wasn't too weird, them assuming you were her father." she said.

He shook his head.

"No, it was ok and Grace was even joking about it. It's ok and I know that I'm not her father but well, she's your daughter and I am just glad that she likes me and wants to spend time with me. As long as you are ok with that." he answered.

"I am. Why wouldn't I be? I love that you get along so well, especially since we might be living together someday soon." she mused.

"Might? I thought we had already agreed on that!" he teased her.

She shook her head and laughed softly.

"Yes, you are right. We did." she told him and leaned in for a gentle kiss.

They remained sitting like that for a little longer, then after some time Will started to get up, placing a soft kiss to her forehead.

"Ok, I'm going home now, well actually I might think I will run into the office quickly as I've been away all afternoon and it's only gonna be 9PM once I get there." he said.

"What? Oh damn, I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to do that now." she told him.

"It's ok. Being the boss can't only have perks. I doubt that something really important is going on, or I would have gotten a call, but still, better to stay on top of it." he said.

She sighed.

"I wished you could stay." she told him.

He grinned at her.

"I know. I'd prefer that over going to work immensely. But hey, it's ok, we've discussed this. And you know, tomorrow starts the weekend, and I plan to spend a huge part of that with you." he told her, kissing her neck.

"Hmn. Sounds like an amazing plan." she mumbled her agreement.

* * *

A/N: So, anyone still alive? I have soooooo much feeeeeeels over this. Will is gonna be an awsome daddy, isn't he?


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Soo long time finally an update! :D Special thanks to Josie for educating me on Cook County divorce law :D Such a fun subject :D So, here we go!

* * *

This time they actually managed to spend a whole weekend in peace. And more importantly, in bed most of the time. Alicia had started the pill again the day her period had set in and from then on taken thorough care of really swallowing it daily. They were considering trying for a baby, but until that was settled for, she needed to make sure there were no accidents. The "lost" child incident had been hard on her nerves and with everything going on she needed to focus on the divorce proceedings now. She wanted that one out of the way before she wanted to even consider starting a new family. She'd told Will, and he'd nodded and told her he understood, and agreed.

Still she was now sitting in her office on Monday morning and dreaming about a future with Will. And their baby. It was totally insane, willingly pregnant at her age, maybe that wasn't even possible anymore? What would happen then? If they agreed to try and it wouldn't work? Will wanted a child, but what if she couldn't give him one? She tried to escape the unhappy thoughts but it wasn't so easy. But at least she was sure that she wanted a future with him. After Peter, she should maybe want to take a break and just be single. Yet with Will now in the picture that was not an option anymore. She loved him so much already after the short time they'd been dating. If you could even call it that.

It had started out as a passionate affair that had been all about sex, but very soon had become so much more. She trusted him on a level she'd never trusted a man before and they'd shared a deep connection of respect and friendship right from the start. So it was no wonder she'd fallen in love with him so quickly and deeply like she obviously had. It had been scary at first but her pregnancy scare had helped her along there, because not having the baby also had made her aware of how bad it would be to lose Will at this point of time. So, why not embrace it? Things were going great with him and the kids and she'd done everything to get the divorce proceedings on the way. So really, she knew it was all moving incredibly fast but should she pass up the chance to finally be with Will just because of bad timing all over? Because they had agreed when they started the affair that they would make timing work in their favor for once, having long realized that timing was something that could be forced rather easily if both parties were willing.

The first step though was maybe to stop mentally referring to what they were having as an affair. For the term only ever applied because she was technically still married. But in her heart she wasn't feeling like that for Peter anymore and she'd told him so as well. So it was officially time to call what she had with Will a relationship. They were after all discussing moving in together and making a baby. But first things first. She had a little time now so she decided to go see David Lee for final advice before trying to come up with a compromise about the kids with Peter.

* * *

When the day of meeting with Peter was finally there she was a little nervous. Given by how badly her talk with Peter had gone, she had not been sure that this meeting with him would go any better. She'd actually had to blackmail and threaten him to get him to stop yelling at her when she first told him about Will, so she had not been entirely sure if he'd really would stand by his word and actually try for a fair and easy settlement with the kids.

So she had been prepared for the meeting to turn ugly, but much to her surprise it hadn't. They had sat down with their lawyers and worked off point by point. Financial stuff. The living / housing situation was pretty easy because they were already living in separate apartments and had divided up their property when Alicia had moved him out of her apartment.

Concerning the kids they agreed on keeping things basically as they were, the kids being with Peter over the weekends and with Alicia during the weeks, with Alicia adding she wanted them on every first weekend in the month as well, and in exchange Peter could have them for four consequent days the next weekend. He agreed to that without putting up a big fight, probably because he knew her claim was just. For the next upcoming holidays they had agreed that she would spend Thanksgiving with Will and the kids, they would both spend time with them over Christmas and Peter would have them for New Year's. Actually Peter had said he wanted to take the kids on vacation over New Years, and she had agreed there as making up for her having them on Thanksgiving.

Once they were through with laying everything out Alicia had been glad and now all that was left would be for the court to hopefully approve of it. But she didn't doubt that because they had reached a very good agreement and everyone was content with it.

* * *

She went inside her apartment that was filled with laughter of Zach...and another all too familiar voice. Will. He was here. She put her bag down and went inside, checking what was up and finding Zach and Will on the couch, playing video games. They were so engrossed in the game, they didn't even acknowledge her presence at first. That gave her time to watch them a little, Will was wearing a white shirt with the top buttons undone, no tie and the sleeves rolled up. A hint of a stubble was beginning to form on his face, she loved that look on him, also it told her that he'd come here straight from work rather than going home first.

"Hey." she made her presence known finally.

They both turned around.

"Hey Mom." Zach greeted her.

Will put down his controller and got up from the couch, smiling at her sheepishly.

"Hey. I... I wanted to surprise you and be here when you came home. I hope that is ok." he told her. She went over to him and gave him a soft kiss to the lips.

"Yes it is. I see you've been nicely entertained in my absence." she replied.

He nodded.

"Yes I have been, right Zach? We're having some guy fun here." he said jokingly.

Zach nodded.

"Yeah, he's not even that bad at playing." Zach said with a grin.

At that moment Grace came in.

"Mom, you're back! How did it go?" she wanted to know. She'd told the kids she was sitting down with their father and the lawyers today. Will and Zach looked at her expectantly as well. She sighed and smiled.

"It went well, we didn't fight. You kids will be staying with me during the week and with your Dad for the weekend like it was regulated so far. You'll also be staying with me the first weekend of the month so we get to spend some weekend time together as well. Thanksgiving, like we discussed, we'll be spending together with my mother and uncle Owen. And Will of course." she said, nodding to the man in question.

"Ok, so you are ok and were not fighting?" Grace wanted to know.

"No, sweetie. We are fine, your Dad says hi. It's all going to be ok. We agreed that we will work together for your sake and also make all decisions concerning you two together." she explained to them.

She nodded, and Alicia hugged her.

"So, how about we have dinner now, all four of us?" she suggested, which was met with much approval from all of them.

* * *

Much later Alicia and Will were in bed together, nakedly cuddled up to each other. Will kissed her softly.

"So, I was finally allowed to sleep over. I like that." he told her with a smile.

She grinned into his chest.

"Hmn, I thought it would be fitting, as I'm now a big step closer to being a divorced woman." she told him.

"Yes you are. I'm glad that you want to celebrate that with me." he answered.

"Yes. I want that. And I am tired of lonely nights during the week." she admitted.

"I know. So am I. I love you so much, Alicia. Spending time apart from you is killing me more and more." he replied.

"I know. So, if we were to move in together, where would we live? I kind of would want to have a house again, with a small kid growing up it's so much nicer. Also in a good school district, too. That's important. It doesn't have to be all the way out in Highland Park or a similar neighborhood, I'm sure there will be something that's a little closer to the city like Lincoln Park for example." she told him.

He kissed her softly.

"Good school district? A small kid growing up? So is that a yes on moving in together _and_ making the baby?" he teased her.

She shook her head softly.

"Oh William. One step at a time. I'm just saying we can maybe start looking for what areas would be good and what is available there in houses." she explained.

"Do you want me to look into it?" he asked her, meeting her gaze directly.

"Yes." she told him after considering it for a few seconds, taking the plunge. His grin lighting up like a Christmas tree told her she had given the correct answer. She smiled as well. The thought of finally living together with him was too good to be true. But still about to become reality.

* * *

Are we all dead? Alicia wants to move in with Will and wants his babbyyyyy bwahahaha!


	9. Chapter 9

special thanks to Mary for pointing out something important 3

* * *

She woke up to the alarm and realized she wasn't alone. It was a weekday and Will was still here. She smiled and unfolded herself from his embrace to shut the annoying sound off, then turned back towards him. She tried to recall when had been the last time she'd fallen asleep naked in a man's arm on a weeknight and didn't come up with a definite time. But she surely liked the feeling.

"Hey, good morning." he said, his voice still laced tightly with sleep.

"Hey. You're still here." she remarked with a wide smile.

"Yes, I am. I was allowed to stay over. I like that so much." he told her, giving her a gentle kiss and then getting out of bed, fishing for his underwear and putting it on. Then picking up the rest of his clothes that had been hastily discarded to the floor the previous night.

"Where are you going? Aren't you joining me in the shower?" she wanted to know with a slight pout.

He pulled up his pants and walked over to her while buttoning his shirt.

"No, I can't. I'll head home quickly, shave and shower and put on some fresh clothes before going in to work. Better not to let someone see me come in all ruffled and in last night's shirt or they will start asking questions." He bent over and kissed her gently.

She sighed.

"Yeah, I understand. I wish you could stay some more. Do you at least want to have breakfast?" she asked.

He grinned at her widely.

"You know, now that you mention it, I'm so hungry. And as you've been my generous host for the night, why don't you go have your shower and I'm making pancakes for you and the kids? I kind of still owe you cooking dinner, so I could make that for now." he offered.

She grinned, contemplating for a second if the kids would be all right with that, but they adored Will and if pancakes were involved they'd be all for it.

"Sure, go knock yourself out in my kitchen. I'll be right out." she told him, getting out of bed now as well. He pulled her in a tight hug and kissed her lips softly, letting his hands run down her naked back.

"I thought you were going to make breakfast now." she stated teasingly. He grinned at her.

"I got distracted. I better go do that now. See ya in a bit." he said, then reluctantly let go of her and left for the kitchen.

When she made her way out of the bedroom readily dressed for her day, the smell of pancakes was greeting her as well as the voices of her kids and the man she loved chattering away. She paused for a brief second because she wasn't fully used to this, them being so effortlessly perfect together, like a real family and like it had always been like this. She took a deep breath and went to join them, a wide and happy smile on her face.

* * *

In the afternoon she sat at her desk and was working on a file when there was a new email by Will. The subject read "take a look". She opened it and read "check out the links below. My favorite is number 3."

She clicked on the links one after another and found 3 different houses, 2 in the school district she'd mentioned before and one was in Evanston, by the beach. She could easily see why that would be his favorite. From the exposé alone this looked so amazing, all openly built, big full front windows and white marble floors. Evanston was a little further out than she had wanted, she had considered buying her old house in Highland Park back for a while but the endless commute would have been a big downside. Though Evanston was only half as far away as Highland Park. And a house directly by the lake...

She replied Will.

"I like your choices. Did you even do something else today than looking for houses? You seem to be very eager for this."

It didn't take long for a new email from him to arrive.

"Well you told me to find us a house, so yeah that kind of has been my top priority all day. Don't worry I can multitask well enough so I did get some of my work done as well."

She grinned and shook her head.

"Well, let's discuss this tonight, dinner, my place?" she wrote him back.

"Sure. Now go back to work." he wrote and she shook her head with a grin. He really was taking this task of finding them a house seriously it seems.

-

In the evening they sat down with the kids and had dinner. Will had finally cooked for them like he'd promised and it was much to all of their liking, proving once and for all that he really possessed the cooking skills that he had bragged about. Alicia had thought about what to tell the kids, or when to tell them that she and Will were looking into houses and had decided to just let them in on it from the start because it did concern them, too.

"So, Will and me have been discussing moving in together. And as both our apartments will be too small in the long run...we want to start looking into houses. It might take some time anyway to find something appropriate." she said. Will and the kids looked at her slightly shocked at that revelation. No one said anything first. Will got his composure back the quickest, though she obviously had taken him by surprise as well with her sudden revelation to the kids.

"Of course the both of you will have a say in the decision. So I can gladly arrange for the looking at the houses when you have time, say in the late afternoon or evening." he offered.

Grace was looking slightly puzzled from Will to her mother.

"Why the hurry, though? I mean, so far it's working out well. Oh my God Mom, are you pregnant?" she suddenly wanted to know, shock but also a hint of excitement on her face.

Alicia had just taken a sip of her drink and was now choking on it, coughing violently and needing a minute to regain her composure. She had no idea what to say to that. Well, the truth, obviously.

"No, I'm not." She considered her next words carefully. "But well, we are considering... I mean... we might maybe try for a baby." she finally admitted.

"Wow, seriously?" Grace wanted to know. "But Mom, aren't you...too old for that?" she added.

Alicia laughed at that. Leave it to her daughter to always be frank about things.

"Well, not entirely, no. It might be complicated and might not even work, but we want to try at some point." she said, more decisively, realizing that it was the first time she admitted that one out loud, and not as a possibility but a definitive decision. Looking over at Will and the bright smile that was beginning to form on his face he had caught the meaning in all of this as well. He reached over and squeezed her hand softly.

"Isn't it dangerous, though, Mom? My friend Tyler's Mom had a new baby last year and she nearly lost it and had to be in the hospital much." Zach threw in.

She nodded.

"Yes, it can be, I know there will be risks, but I will seek good medical care and advice. Also I always wanted a third child, and as you two turned out so perfectly well, I think I finally want that now. And Will wants to have a baby of his own." she amended.

"Not that I don't like you two. But I am not really going to be your father, even if we will be living together. I know that and I don't want to be, because you already have one that's still going to be an important part of your lives." Will added.

Grace nodded and grinned suddenly.

"So, a house? Can I have a bigger room then as the one I have now?" Grace asked after processing the new information.

Alicia had to laugh at that.

"I think that can be arranged." she said.

Later when they were in bed Alicia went back to the conversation about the house.

"So, we are really doing this? Looking at houses?" she wanted to know.

He nodded and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Yes we are. I'm going to arrange for us to look at these three houses I already picked. And then we see if one of them is it. And if not we can always try and find something different."

"Won't you miss your place though?" she asked him.

"Well, I really love my apartment. But it is totally bachelor style, maybe if it were only you that were moving in, it would be ok. But with your kids and a baby it's hardly suitable anymore. So, will I miss it? Yes, definitely. Still I'm willing to give it up in a heartbeat for you and starting a family with you. Won't you miss your apartment?" he returned the question to her.

"I probably will, yes. But yeah I guess it's the same, it's not so fitting anymore for the new situation, it's going to be too small soon. And it stands for a time when I did have to make everything work on my own. But these times are over now." she said.

"Damn right they are. I love you Alicia. I'm always there for you from here on out, I promise." he told her and leaned in for a delicate kiss of her lips. She snuggled close to him and sighed.

"Thank you Will. I love you." she told him.


	10. Chapter 10

And here is the next cuteness overload chapter. :) Are we all ready?

* * *

Over the course of the next week they looked at the three houses Will had found as possible choices. She liked the first one - a very lovely three story building in the middle of Lincoln park with all dark hardwood floors and cream colored walls making the rooms look bright and friendly. It was really luxurious and would be all ready to move into and Alicia felt instantly at home there. It was big enough, too, with 5 bedrooms and 4 baths. Will and the kids liked it as well, also it was in a good school district like she had wanted from the start.

The second house wasn't far away but neither Will nor Alicia liked it particularly. That left number three, the one that Will had titled as his personal favorite. The drive out to Evanston took them 20 minutes, which wasn't that bad. They got out of the car and Alicia gasped as she actually saw the house. It had been pretty to look at in the pictures. Up close it was completely breathtaking. Will grinned at her knowingly.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" he asked her, taking her hand and squeezing it softly.

"It is so beautiful." she told him.

"It's really by the beach!" Grace shouted.

Will chuckled.

"What, did you think I would lie to you, princess?" he teased her.

Alicia shook her head and laughed to herself, Will had started calling Grace that much to her amusement. Playing on her sometimes behaving like she was a spoiled little princess, but the way he used it, it was completely endearing. And Grace accepted him calling her that, but nobody else.

The door opened and the realtor came out, greeting them happily.

"Hello Mr. Gardner, you found it and are just on time. That's how I like my clients. But I'm sure you always have to be very punctual as a lawyer. Oh, and you brought your wife and kids I see, hi Mrs. Gardner. My name is Viola Green, but please call me Viola." the woman said smilingly and held her hand out to Alicia.

She gasped with shock of being addressed as that, while she could hear Grace giggling off to the side, Zach had an amused grin on his face while Will cleared his throat, barely hiding his own amusement.

"Actually we're not yet married. But we are starting a family together, so that's what we are looking into houses for." he cleared it up.

"Oh I'm so sorry, forgive me my mistake. You look so perfectly together. Well, come on in then, and I'll show you around the house."

They followed Viola in and Alicia leaned in closely to Will.

"Not _yet_, good to know Mr. Gardner." she told him with a small grin and a wink, liking that he had cleared up the misunderstanding in a very elegant way and not just letting it stand like this, but all the while slipping up a little with the yet. Like it was only a matter of time rather than if at all. They had discussed the basic outline of their future together. Finding a house, trying for a baby. When and where and if at all marriage would come in play they hadn't really decided on. She wasn't even sure if she wanted that again. Her divorce hadn't even come through yet, but she knew now first hand that a marriage certificate held no deeper meaning in if you would actually stay together or not. Will and her were working so well together, and she sure as hell didn't need another ring on her finger to prove that to herself or anyone else. So, maybe they needed to talk about this at some point.

They were given the grand tour of the house then, seeing all of it. The kids, especially Grace seemed to like it very much, like they'd done in the first house they picked their rooms they wanted to occupy. It was a two level house with full size glass fronts all over, making the light flood through the rooms. The master bedroom had a balcony overlooking the lawn and the lake. The lake and the strip of private beach that belonged to the whole package being the total highlight of it all.

"A private beach. You've really outdone yourself, Will." she told him when Viola gave them a little privacy to look around on their own."

"I know, it's perfect. The only problem is if we take it, it needs some work, so we could maybe just move in in a couple of months rather than right away like with the other one in Lincoln Park we liked. And it's not in the school district you wanted but they have a very good private school close by here as well and I really love this place." he told her, grinning widely and she knew from his look that if she agreed they'd found their new home. She turned away from him, walking around the house a little more and looking around dreamingly. This really was almost too good to be true, the house was marvelous, it had a huge garden and the private beach - it would be perfect for a child growing up.

She turned back around to face Will, pulling him in for a soft kiss.

"I think I want this one as well. If the kids are ok with it, I'd say we've found our home." she said while looking him deeply in the eyes. He pulled her in for another kiss, this one more passionate and as he pulled away making her almost regret they were not alone here to celebrate this on the spot.

"It's perfect. Let's ask your kids then what they think just for the record. Though I think they were already sold at private beach." he told her, making her giggle.

"Yes, I think so, too. And they have already picked out their rooms." she agreed.

They went to find the kids to talk to them and the decision to buy the house was quickly made. Their home as a family.

* * *

When they were home later and alone Alicia needed to talk to Will about something that she'd wanted to do once they had found a house. It was clear to her that he intended on paying for the house all on his own and she didn't like that at all.

"So, I want to help pay for our house." she told him out directly.

"Ok? Why? I mean, I get why, but that won't be necessary. You're only a third year associate, I'm a name partner. And the sale of my apartment will cover at least half the price, if not three quarters. So there is no need for that." he told her with a soft smile.

"I know that you can afford it but that's not the point I don't want to be that kind of woman...and..." she swallowed down the _we are not even married_ that suddenly had popped up randomly in her mind. "It just wouldn't feel right." she said instead.

He kissed her forehead softly.

"Ok, what do you say. I'll put the down payment in now and take up the money for the house. As soon as the apartment is sold we'll use that money and for the rest you can help pay off. Would that be ok?" he wanted to know. She shook her head but had to smile never the less.

"You know that's still more than an unfair division, but I agree to your terms." she said.

"Thank you. Don't worry, just because I'm buying us a house doesn't mean that you are weak or dependant on me. Because I know you're not." he told her with a little wink.

She nodded.

"So, now that this is decided on, I guess it's time we make it public at work. I mean, it will come out eventually if we change our addresses both at the same time and to the same place." he told her, bringing up the next issue that they had to tackle.

"I know. But I'm afraid a little. Questions will come up and it will look as if I am sleeping my way to the top and always have." she told him. He shook his head and hugged her to him.

"I know but we both know that's not true and I _am_ at the top so people won't dare being openly hostile with you. As for the rest, if we just keep on acting professionally around the office we will be ok and the scandal will die down soon enough. So I'd say we tell them as soon as your divorce is confirmed by the court. I'll talk to Diane and have her take over all things that are connected to you. It will turn out all right, I promise you." he told her.

She sighed.

"I hope it will." she answered.

"Hey, we made everything else work so far. So this is just the next step we need to take. One at a time, like we said from the start." he assured her.

She nodded and sank into his embrace, letting his soft touch convince her once more that everything would really be ok.


	11. Chapter 11

A small update today. The next one is just around the corner. With a bonus part ;-)

* * *

When the divorce was confirmed by the court there was a media scandal of course. Not as big and long living as before with the affair, but notable. After all Peter was in the spotlight with being the State's Attorney. But Eli had prepared everything well, Peter had held a press conference and she had been there to show to the public that it was really a friendly matter. That was the least she could do as Peter had pretty much agreed to all her terms with the divorce.

There had been reporters calling her for statements and follow up questions all day, digging for deeper reasons, most of them looking into Peter's direction though, if there was a new affair on his side. She denied that every time she was asked directly, confirmed that they really just had decided to let it go as they were not being able to mend their broken relationship.

-

In the evening Will came to Alicia's place, bringing pizza. She sat on the couch with the kids and they were watching the news, Will walked in and shook his head.

"You shouldn't watch that and just let the media hype die down. Let's have dinner, ok?" he called out to them, walking straight to the kitchen.

Alicia sighed and switched off the TV, then got up to go to Will, greeting him with a soft kiss to the lips.

"I know, you are right. Thanks for dinner." she said.

He'd already started getting plates out and setting them on the table along with silverware while the kids came in and sat down at the table. Alicia got some wine for her and Will and juice for the kids out and set it on the table as well. They sat down and started eating.

"So, now it's official." Grace remarked, sadness in her voice.

"Yes, it is. In half a year it will be finalized. But nothing will change between you kids, me and your Dad, you know that, right? It's really just like a renaming of things - as we have been living apart for months now. And with all that out of the way it might even become a little friendlier again." she told Grace.

"Will we be spending holidays all together soon? Because my friend Julia's parents both got remarried and now they always spend Thanksgiving all together and it was super awkward at first she said." Grace told them.

Alicia looked at Will, a little shocked as the picture was beginning to form in her mind. Will and Peter, along with Jackie and Veronica and a lot of booze. That was a sure recipe for disaster. She shook the images off.

"Don't worry, I don't think we will be doing that anytime soon." she said.

Will looked a bit relieved. Though he would bravely stand such a get together, she was sure of that.

* * *

After dinner the kids returned to their rooms and Will and Alicia cuddled up on the couch together.

"So, as promised I talked to Diane about us today. The opportunity was there, she asked me if I had known that you were getting a divorce. I told her, yes, I did. And the reason why I did, as well. She was shocked and cursing me, giving me a lecture on sleeping with an underling, listing all the reasons why it was wrong. I let her get it all out, I know why she might think that it was a bad idea. But I made it clear that it was so much more than me just sleeping with you, that we were both consenting adults and that I can with a clear consciousness say I have never favored you over others - well not because I was sleeping with you. If I did, it was because you are doing and amazing job." he summarized the talk with his partner.

"Did you tell her about the baby?" she asked him, a little panicky.

He kissed her softly.

"Don't worry. Of course I didn't. Neither that we thought there might be one nor that we might maybe try for one. But I did tell her about the house. I think that made a big impression. It showed her that we are not just messing around but that it's something real, and something important. She's still not 100% sure that it's a good idea. She wanted to know if I was ready to settle down - I think she has doubts there because all the time she's known me as the ladies man that was nowhere ready for a real and honest relationship. She wished us luck in the end and agreed to handle everything that's connected with you financially and related to the firm otherwise on her own. Also we will disclose the relationship on the next partner's meeting so they know what's up, too. I know it's not ideal, then again it will make its rounds within the firm anyhow so I guess it's better to be honest up front. Are you ready for that?" he asked her.

She sighed but nodded.

"Yes. Thank you Will, for doing this." she told him and kissed him softly.

"No, thank you for still being with me and agreeing to start a family with me. It means so much. I never knew I wanted a family and kids until you came along and showed me that I did. Thank you for that." he told her.

She cuddled up to him with a soft sigh, smiling contently.

"You're welcome. Let's go to bed, ok?" she suggested.

"Are you tired, Baby?" he whispered.

"No, not really." she said, grinning up at him.

"Oh, I see. Well yes, in that case we need to get you to bed urgently." he stated with a grin, picking her up and carrying her to the bedroom.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: So this is a special chapter. It contains an M-rated scene that I wrote in the very beginning of this already. I was tempted to just delete it as this is not an M-rated story but oh well I marked it with a warning from when it begins and made all the smut in italics so you can skip that part. It IS something that many of my readers begged me to do. So this is for you who requested I write this 3

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A couple of days later she was up early. Will had not slept over this time because he had to work very late. He'd called Alicia and told her he also had a very early breakfast meeting with a client the next day so he'd just go to his place, work some more and then sleep.

She made herself some coffee as an alarm in her phone went off. She checked what it was and then gulped. It was time to start a new package of the pill. She retrieved it and stared at the small rectangle package, not opening it. If she didn't take one now she could become pregnant soon. They could actually start trying for a baby. Everything else was set in motion now. They would move into the new house within 6 weeks. The divorce had been granted by the court, people at work knew about Will and her. This was the last piece that was still missing. A baby. She smiled softly at the thought, a tiny baby with Will's features, and how amazing he would be as a father. She gave the package one last look, then dropped it back into the kitchen drawer. Instead she took out her phone and texted Will to meet her for lunch, she needed to talk to him about something.

They met up for lunch, actually eating together as they had decided sneaking off to hotel rooms quickly over the break, as thrilling as it was, was not needed anymore with their relationship now being public knowledge. So they could enjoy actually sitting together and do things that normal couples did - like eating together in public, holding hands and laughing softly.

"So, what is it that you wanted to tell me, my love?" he asked her, as always making her smile when he called her that.

"Well, this morning I would have needed to start a new package of the pill. But I didn't." she said, holding his gaze to see what his reaction would be exactly. He gasped as realization hit him, a wide grin spreading all over his face.

"Does this mean...we are making a baby?" he asked her.

She grinned widely as well being faced with his happiness.

"Yes it does. If you want to." she confirmed.

His grin got a little evil, his eyes glimmering with mischief.

"I f I want to? I'd start right away. How much time do we still have? We could always find a hotel room quickly..." he suggested but she got that he was just kidding. So she joined in his little joke.

"I'm shocked. You want to make me a baby during a lunch break quickie?" she asked, feigning outrage. He laughed and leaned in to give her a soft kiss.

"Well actually I do have a better idea. Come to my place tonight after work, ok? I have just the idea." he told her. She smiled, wondering what kind of surprise he was up to.

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Alicia entered his place.

"Will?" she called out his name. He didn't reply. Maybe he was just in the bathroom or somewhere else he didn't hear her.

"Will? Where are you?" she tried again, walking further into the apartment, putting down her bag and shedding her coat.

"I'm here." she heard him calling from somewhere that she figured was the bedroom.

She went in search of him and stopped just inside the door, gaping at the scenario in front of her. Will had put out candles all over the room and was now lighting them. She'd expected everything but not this. He finished lighting the last candle and then came over to her, pulling her into an embrace and kissing her softly.

"Will...what is all this?" she wanted to know.

"I know this might be stupid but I figured...since tonight is the first time we officially try, I wanted to make it special. Maybe it was a dumb idea..." She cut him off with another kiss, more passionate this time, conveying how much she actually liked this.

"It's perfect. I love it. I like that you wanted to make this night special." she said.

"Hmn, and wouldn't it be nice if it worked right away and we could always look back to this night and know that it was probably when we made the baby." he said, whispering into her ear while softly nibbling on the lobe. She laughed, knowing that it was highly improbable but still loved him so much for trying to make this special and memorable.

"You are mighty convinced of your powers Mr. Gardner if you think that it will work so easily. That one night will be enough to impregnate me. You know how I was looking forward to a _long_ and _hard_ period of trying before it actually worked." she told him with a flirty and seductive voice.

He let his lips move down her throat.

"Let's see about that." he told her.

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**_M-RATED PART!_**

_She sighed as he continued to suck on the sensitive skin of her throat while starting to take off her clothes. Alicia pushed his hands away though and took a step back, smiling at him seductively, then ever so slowly started to peel off layer and layer of clothing, starting with her blouse and then her skirt, followed by her underwear and thigh highs, until she was completely naked. She lied down on the bed while Will was still standing there, watching her like mesmerized._

Then he undressed himself, not taking his time like she had done, but having her completely naked and ready for him in his bed he didn't want to waste a second longer than he needed to. So with his clothes gone he climbed into bed, crawling over her and kissing his way from her belly upwards to her breasts, where he sucked and gently bit the hardening tips until she was squirming and moaning under him. Then he went for an openmouthed kiss of her lips, letting his tongue roam her mouth. She kissed him back with the same force while angling her hips so his hardness was rubbing right against her, letting him feel how wet she was.

He moaned into the kiss and moved a little to the side, so he was able to move one hand between her legs, stroking her wetness and softly pushing two fingers inside of her. She moaned and sighed, arching into him. He moved his fingers in and out, rubbing her clit and g-spot on every turn, making her moan and get closer to climax quickly. But before she was fully there he withdrew his fingers, moving back on top of her completely and kissed her lips again, then slowly moved inside of her, pushing forwards until he was all the way in. After kissing her lips for some more seconds he started moving, setting a fast pace right away, groaning because this felt so good.

"No Will, go slower, please, I want to make this last just a little longer." she whispered and he complied, changing his pace to a slower one. She moaned, spreading her legs wider so he would go even deeper inside.

"Oh God, yes. like that. This feels amazing." she panted between soft moans of pleasure. When he felt her muscles contract around him he picked up the pace again, slamming into her hard and deep, following her over the edge with a groan. 

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**M rated over**

Afterwards he remained unmoving for a bit and looked into her eyes deeply, then leaned in for a soft kiss. Eventually he moved, coming to rest next to her.

"You're so gorgeous, I love you." he told her.

She chuckled.

"Yeah, you say this now. Just wait until I' heavily pregnant and looking like an elephant." she joked.

"Aw you know I can't wait for that because you will only look more perfect." he told her, placing a soft kiss on her flat abdomen.

She laughed about that.

"Haha yeah just wait for me being fat and moody from the hormones, you'll be running for the hills." she told him.

"No I won't. I want to do this with you, from the first second to the last one." he answered.

"You're too sweet. I'm looking forward to it. It won't always be easy, but we can do this." she told him.

"Yes, I know we can. As long as we're together." he answered.

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So! Guess what happens next chapter. The closest to a complication this story will see. LMAO. :P Hint. Certain events of ep 3x10 make an appearance ;-)


	13. Chapter 13

I knew right from the beginning this scene of 3x10 would make an appearance. Rewatching it now and considering my story so far I thought I'd change a key detail. I'm sure you will forgive me. ;-)

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The days went by without much complications. Alicia was almost stunned how she fell into a routine with Will so easily, of course given their old and lingering feelings they'd had ever since Georgetown this shouldn't really surprise her. But their actual relationship was rather young - still it worked perfectly, and it made her happy. Will slept over most of the nights now, the weekends they spent at his place because the chance of being undisturbed there was bigger - they were trying to make a baby after all which was done discreetly and silently during the week due to the kids being close by. And a little louder and more passionate on the weekends when they were all alone. They also started packing up the first boxes, the move wouldn't happen for another 3 weeks because there still had renovations to be done. But they had gotten everything finalized and they had driven out there on their own with a bottle of champagne the day they were handed the keys and had celebrated in private - Will taking her against the wall in her future bedroom for the lack of a bed, with the promise of many more passionate nights still to come.

So, everything was good. Still, one morning she woke up from a nightmare, Grace yelling for her, her voice in pain. When she sat up in bed, she realized it had been a bad dream. She sighed and let herself fall back to bed, cuddling up to Will's warm body and going back to sleep. Still when she woke up in the morning, she felt bad. It was Monday morning and it was a hectic day at work, but still she took the time to call Grace, making sure she was all right. Hearing her voice on the way to school did reassure her at least a little. The bad feeling of the morning subsided slowly and nearly died away. Only to hit her so hard that she almost couldn't breathe when she checked her phone at lunch with Will to see 12 missed calls from Grace. She tried calling her back but went straight to voicemail. She checked her own voicemail and just got a weird ruffling noise on it instead of a message. Panic started to rise within her. She called Zach, inquiring if she was with him but he said no, he had to stop by her office to work on her computer and he figured Grace would have been home by now.

She was feeling like going crazy right now. She called the home phone but no one answered. Will was watching her with alert all the time, trying to ask her what was wrong but the more calls she made the clearer the picture became to him - that obviously something was very wrong. He signaled for the check and lead her out to the car, driving her to Grace's school. They located her friend Shannon who told her she saw Grace get into a car with a man. Alicia felt bile rise in her throat. Oh no. Grace. She knew something was so completely wrong. She'd felt it all day and she wanted to kick herself for ignoring her bad feeling. She had to lean on Will for support for a few seconds, he was looking upset now as well. She tried to pull herself together and called Peter. That was her last hope, that he'd come to pick her up. When he said he didn't she started crying, sobbingly relaying the events of the day so far to him. What if it was related to the case she was just working on? Peter tried to calm her down, she was glad for once that he had the unique ability to be in charge of a situation because she was about to break down.

Will had turned away and taken a short call as well, now coming back to her and she blindly sobbed into him, her knees going week and her body about to shut down.

"Alicia, shh, calm down, it's gonna be ok. Peter will set the whole police force of the city up to look for her. And just to make sure I put Kalinda on it - well, tried to, she already was. She overheard your phone call to Zach, so she started investigating it on her own. They'll find her, I promise you." he whispered.

She stepped back and looked at him, shocked. Of all people, Kalinda. Sure, she was a good investigator but the thought of being in her dept sickened her.

"How can you know that? How can you know they will find her in time? Oh God, my poor baby girl..." she sobbed, the hurt and irritation mixing into a new wave of tears. Will pulled her close again, kissing the top of her head. She tried to struggle against him but he didn't accept her pushing him away until her struggle died down again, having her sink into his embrace.

"I just know, ok? She is all right, where ever she is, they are going to find her." he insisted.

She stepped out of his arms, a thought appearing to her.

"We need to drive home, I want to leave her a note to call me in case she gets there." she said.

Will nodded.

"Yes, that's a good idea, ok, let's go." he told her, and they drove over to the apartment. She composed the note with a shaky hand when suddenly she heard the keys in the door. She spun around and ran to the entry door, being greeted by Peter.

"She's not at my place. I thought she might be here." he told her with a solemn and worried expression.

Fresh tears welled up in her. Peter came over and hugged her tightly, whispering how it was only a few hours and everything would be fine. She didn't even think about how weird this was, Peter hugging her like that, but she just accepted it, they were comforting each other over worry for their child. She suddenly felt Peter tense and look up, and instantly knew that Will must have joined them. She broke the contact and turned around, Will was standing across the hallway and watching them, trying to give her a reassuring smile but failing miserably because the worry was etched deeply in his features as well. Grace might not be his child but she knew he was worrying for her anyway.

"Will." Peter acknowledged.

"Hey Peter." Will gave back with a court nod.

"Will and me were having lunch when...oh God, I had my phone on silent during the hearing and forgot to switch it on again and checking for missed calls." she said.

"It's ok. It happens. She will be ok." Peter said, but his worried tone betrayed his words. They waited around in an uncomfortable silence. They were in the kitchen, Will looked from her to Peter, assessing the situation, and looking torn. She knew it was awkward with them both here, but she needed Will around, also she knew he'd want to be there if news of Grace came.

Suddenly the heard the door and Peter and Alicia jumped up to see who it was. When it was indeed Grace they both ran to her, pulling her into a close hug, Alicia's tears finally of relief and not sadness. Will hung back and watched the scenery unfold, glad that she was back and ok, it was a liberating feeling. Grace met his gaze from across the room and smiled at him, making him smile back happily. She extracted herself from the embrace of her parents and came over to him, hugging him tightly as well.

"I'm so sorry." she said and he just shook his head and pressed a soft kiss to her hair.

"Oh princess, you scared the crap out of us all. Don't do that again, ok?" he whispered, pressing her close.

"I promise." she confirmed and he looked up, catching Peter's gaze that held a mix of emotions. Surprise, maybe even outrage, but also an understanding of some sort. He didn't care though, he had been worried for Grace as well, she had become part of his family by extension and he would rather die than seeing her hurt. Grace let go of him and went back to her parents and Will smiled at Alicia softly, taking a deep breath. He'd leave them now, Grace was safe and Alicia didn't need him to lean upon him anymore so he would just give them a little privacy now.

"Ok, well, I'm going back to the office now. I'm glad everything is ok. Take all the time you need, ok Alicia?" he told her in passing by. She gripped his wrist, holding him back, turning fully towards him now.

"Thank you Will. For being there. I'll see you later, ok?" she told him and then moved in for a gentle kiss, one he accepted after the briefest moment of hesitation as Peter was still standing in the room. But what could he care when Alicia was in his arms. He smiled at her brightly, gently stroking her face.

"Bye." he said, then left them, which wasn't all that hard because he knew he'd see them again in the afternoon, because they were his family now. And that was all that mattered.

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surprise. This story is over now. There will be a sequel of some form at some point though. Either with a one shot compilation or an actual MC story picking up a little later. This universe it too good to just let it go. So, we'll see :D Thank you for all your loving words and reviews. 3


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